Teso (natively Ateso) is an Eastern Nilotic language spoken by the Teso people of Uganda and Kenya and some speakers are in South Sudan. It is part of the Teso–Turkana language cluster.
According to the 2002 Uganda population and housing census, over 1.57 million people in Uganda (6.7 percent of the total Uganda population) spoke Ateso. Also, an estimated 279,000 people in Kenya speak the language. Its SIL code is TEO.
Ateso is spoken in the Teso sub-region. Ateso is also known as Bakedi, Bakidi, Elgumi, Etossio, Ikumama, Iteso, Teso or Wamia. It is closely related to Turkana and Karamojong.
Alphabet
There are 22 letters in the Ateso alphabet F,H,Q,V,H,X and Z are not used and ŋ and NY are added. F,H,Q,V,H,X,Z only appear in loan words. The pronunciation guides that follow are for practice only; the correct sounds can only be learned by practice from a teacher or an audio media.
There are five vowels in Ateso
A, E, I, O, U. These five letters, however, represent more than five sounds, for the letters E, I, O and U have two values each; a "close" value and an "open" value.
Close vowels are pronounced approximately as follows: E [] as in beg (French é): aipet----- to kick I [] as in seat: aidip----- to hit O [] as in Scottish pronunciation of bone (French eau): aimor----- to insult, to abuse U [] as in fool: aikut----- to scratch the earth, to scoop something
Open vowels are pronounced approximately as follows: E [] as in beg (French è): aipet ----- to lay out I [] as in sit: ailid----- to fasten O [] as in gone (or in glory when long): aimor----- to share U [] as in full: aikut -----to blow
A [] is pronounced as in art (never short as in ram) abal 'to say'
Note that whether the root vowel is "closed" or "open" affects the conjugation of the verb.
Where the vowels AI or OI stand together, they represent sounds approximating the "i" in bite [] and "oy" [] in annoy respectively. In other vowel combinations, both vowels must be given their full values. The "au" in kau -----(behind) is pronounced [] not [].
All words ending in a consonant possess a semi-mute or "shadow" vowel after the final consonant, which is not pronounced when the word stands in isolation, but which is pronounced when the word is followed by another word beginning with a consonant:
e.g. The Ateso translation of "the women go to the house" is written: elosete aŋor togo ----- the women are going to the house but is pronounced: elosete aŋoro Togo
If the word following is normally written as one with the preceding word, the "shadow" vowel is not only pronounced but written: e.g. elosete aŋoroke togo ----- his women are going to the house Other examples are given in (vii) below.
There are sixteen consonants and one semi-vowel in Ateso, pronounced approximately as follows:
B [] as in bat: bobo -----again
C [] as in chat (never as in cat): elacet ----- key
D [] as in dog: edou ----- rain
G [] as in get (never as in geology): agasia rubbish/trash
J [] as in jam: aijar life
K [] as in king: ekek door
L [] as in let: alalau width
M [] as in mat: mam ----- no
N [] as in nut: ainu ------ to hug
ŋ** [] as in hanger (never as in finger): iŋai ----- who
NY [] as in Spanish Señorita: anya ----- grass (plural) P [] as in put: papa ----- father R [] as in rat (should be well rolled): erute ----- gate S [] as in service : aisab ----- to tell lies T [] as in toss: toto ----- mother y [] as in yellow: yoga ----- hello
Semi vowel: W [] as in win: awasia ----- the end, aiwosa ----- to prosecute
(vi) In words of foreign origin introduced into Teso the missing sound F is replaced by P and the missing sound V by B or P. Z is replaced by S.
Thus mesa -----table (Kiswahili) becomes e-mesa
oku-fuga -----to rule (Luganda) becomes ai-puga
It is an invariable rule that two consonants can never stand together in the same word. Both in speech and in writing. When word construction brings two consonants together, either one of the consonants must be dropped or the "shadow" vowel mentioned in sub-paragraph (iv) above must be inserted between the consonants.
E.g. (Omission of one consonant)
Nen-pe-nen 'just there' is written and pronounced nepenen.
(Insertion of "shadow" vowel) ŋon-tuŋa-nan 'every man' is written and pronounced: ŋonituŋanan